Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 – Season 1 – Blu-ray – Collector’s Edition Review

Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 is a Japanese original net animation (ONA) series based on the 1980s Japanese manga series Ghost in the Shell by Shirow Masamune. This series is based in the world of Stand Alone Complex a sort original series offshoot of the Ghost in the Shell world, to make a long story short, even though many of the original characters still appear here, like Kusangi and Batou.

Set eleven years after the events of Solid State Society, this season is set after a global economic disaster known as the Simultaneous Global Default which wiped out the value of all forms of paper and digital currencies. Leaving many people who were once well off bereft and spawning a “Sustainable War” between the Big 4 nations of the world. Meanwhile, the former Section 9, Kusangai, Batou, Saito, and others are working as mercenaries around the world as the group GHOST. But they are brought back together to stave off a threat by a mysterious and dangerous programmer and superpowered “post-humans,” as a program unleashed on the network targeting people’s cyberbrains is uncovered.

There is a lot going on in this new series and some of it is a little difficult to comprehend at times, but not in the complex, multilayered way that the Ghost in the Shell franchise has always been. This does not require multiple viewings to get, the story arc is just a bit convoluted and too much on the nose. The obvious references to real-world issues like the never-ending wars, the geopolitical pressures that the United States puts on its so-called allies, and financial crashes are not masked or written as metaphor. Furthermore, what starts as an investigation into dangerous post-humans suddenly veers into an investigation into a dangerous software program.

Putting aside the confused story arc and poor metaphors, the animation style in this series is just not up to the level of this great franchise. The 3DCG has wonky motion, the detail in the characters is not there, and it looks terribly low-budget as a result. Comparing this to the stunning 2D hand drawn animation of the original feature film is – well, just do not do that, because this series will not fare well.

This series is not all bad, it has the mood and some of the look we have come to expect from Ghost in the Shell and on the macro level, some action sequences are stunning if you do not factor in the hand-to-hand combat, which just has terrible motion.

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The Video

Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 is brought to Blu-ray in a 1.78:1 AVC 1080p encodement. The 3DCG animation looks as good as it can, but there are flaws likely inherent to the 3D rendering rather than the enocodement. One can definitely see banding in color fills, especially darker areas, and some of the edges of characters and objects show some stairstepping. Otherwise, the image is colorful and has good shadow detail and overall detail.

The Audio

Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 gets its original Japanese-language audio in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 stereo mixes in this Blu-ray release. The audio is the standout in this release, with full mid-range and dialogue clarity, big extension into the low end that manages the sound effects like explosions and gunfire with staggering effectiveness, plus an aggressive yet balanced use of the surround channels for solid sounds mixed through the room. This is an outstanding reference mix that is levels above the sound of the streaming mix on Netflix.

The Supplements

This collection from Shout! Studios is a beautifully housed in a glossy box and comes with a 100-page artbook, 4 art cards, and a foldout poster. The on-disc extras include one 45-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, an interview, and more.

Limited Edition Content for Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045

• 100-Page Artbook
• 4 Art Cards
• 11.7” x 16.5” Poster

Bonus Features:

Extras Blu-ray Featuring:

• Behind the Scenes (1080i; 00:44:25)
• Interview and Behind the Scenes (1080i; 00:03:19)
• SAC 2045 CG Breakdown (1080p; 00:13:02)
• Preview (1080i; 00:01:37)
• Preview Final Version (1080p; 00:01:00)
• Teaser PV (1080p; 00:00:40)
• Textless Opening (1080p; 00:01:30)
• Textless Ending (1080p; 00:01:30)

The Final Assessment

Shout! Studios delivers a beautiful collection of this middling entry in the Ghost in the Shell franchise. Fans may still like it, especially the awesome 5.1 and stereo mixes, but other Stand Alone Complex entries have been better and it goes without saying the first two original feature films are in a class by themselves.

Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 – Season 1 – Blu-ray – Collector’s Edition is out August 23, 2024 from Shout! Studios

Purchase Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 – Season 1 – Blu-ray – Collector’s Edition on Crunchy Roll

• Rating Certificate: TV-MA
• Animation Studio: Production I.G | Sola Digital Arts
• Distributors: Netflix | Shout! Studios
• Directors: Kamiyama Kenji | Aramaki Shinji
• Written By: Kamiyama Kenji
• Run Time: 300 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Video Format: AVC 1080p
• Primary Audio: Japanese DTS-HD MA 5.1
• Secondary Audio: Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo
• Subtitles: English
• Street Date: 23 August 2024